Detailed Objective: This project identifies eating patterns associated with diet quality and obesity
in children and young adults from a biracial population, using the Bogalusa Heart
Study database. The project will also identify strategies for changing eating
patterns and improving diet quality.

The project will use the Bogalusa Heart Study database to identify eating pattern
"typologies" associated with diet quality and obesity in 1,243 children and
1,840 young adults from a biracial population, using cross-sectional and longitudinal
approaches. It will identify eating pattern "typologies" by gender and ethnicity;
determine the association between eating patterns (e.g., restaurant meals, beverage
consumption, portion sizes), diet quality, and obesity among children over a
21-year period; identify predictive eating patterns associated with diet quality
and obesity; determine age-related differences in eating patterns and diet quality
associated with obesity; and identify specific strategies for changing targeted
eating patterns and improving diet quality.